Accidental Revelations
by sg1cat
Summary: Daniel and Vala go to a party after their moment on the balcony in Project Pegasus, and the alcohol flows a little too freely. Thanks to LC and Kelly for their Beta work.
1. Chapter 1

The bright Lantian moon shone down on the dark waters surrounding the sprawling city, its light sparkling upon the still surface. The spiraling towers that rose up from the surface shone forth with their own twinkling lights, pushing back the darkness of the pitch-black sky. Near the top of one of the tallest spires was a sprawling balcony, jutting out from the minaret to look out over the vast city below.

Daniel Jackson stood upon the balcony, along with Vala Mal Duran, the two leaning upon the surrounding railing. They looked in silence at the vast metropolis and the dark waters below.

"She did what she believed was right, Daniel," the raven-haired woman said fervently, suddenly breaking the quiet. "How badly can she be punished for that?"

The archaeologist didn't answer right away, pursing his lips as his worried expression became even more intense. "I don't know," he answered simply and sincerely.

Trying to cheer him up, Vala replied lightly, "Maybe she'll just get a slap on the wrist. Or be forced to write 'I will not interfere in the affairs of humans again' ten thousand times."

The man's mood did not improve. "Yeah, I doubt that," he said with a dour tone. She sighed, regarding him with a mixture of frustration and sympathy.

"She said you had your answer," Vala pointed out. "We found out the two addresses we came here for. Can you at least smile about that?" she asked her question with a hopeful voice.

"I suppose," Daniel answered begrudgingly. "But we did find out something else, too."

"What?" She asked with a curious voice.

"They're not going to help us," he said simply. "We're in this alone."

Vala frowned slightly, staring into his eyes as he spoke. The two looked at each other in silence, the weight of his words heavy between them.

Then Daniel looked back out at the darkness before them. Vala did the same, pondering his words. While she was admittedly concerned by the ominous portent of what he said, she was much more worried by how dour the man was becoming.

Glancing back over at him, she watched silently as he gazed out into the waters below, a dark expression upon his face. It pained her to see him suffer like this. Setting her jaw, she determined that she was not going to let him just languish. No, she was going to brighten his evening and make him put aside his fear and doubt.

She just wasn't sure how, quite yet.

Suddenly a soft whirring came from behind them. Both glanced over their shoulders to find the door to the tower opening. Samantha walked out to join them on the deck. "Hello," she said with a smile.

"Hey," Daniel answered, with a glad voice. "When'd you guys get back?" Vala glanced at Daniel irritably. She found herself just a touch annoyed that he seemed to brighten at Sam's arrival, while her efforts to cheer him up had no affect on him. Nonetheless, the raven-haired woman looked away from the archaeologist to smile warmly at Carter. She was also glad to see the other woman back.

"Not too long ago," the blonde-haired woman answered. "Emerson beamed us to the Gateroom about half an hour ago." She paused, looking at Daniel and Vala standing together, then smiled warmly at the sight of the two standing together by the railing.

Daniel furrowed his brow at Sam's expression, watching her silently for a moment. "What?" he asked with a confused voice.

"Nothing," Sam answered quickly, flicking the briefest of glances at Vala. The raven haired woman had been also confused by her smile, but then realized what was so amusing as she caught Sam's look. Vala looked over at Daniel furtively, then back at Sam to return the smile with a mischievous one of her own.

Daniel looked over at Vala just in time to completely miss the entire exchange. He watched her with a furrowed brow, confused by the two women. Vala looked back over at Daniel, smiling widely at him. The two stared at each other silently for a short while, Daniel looking confused while Vala just smiled sweetly at him.

"So," Sam said, causing them both to look back at her. "There's a little celebration party just starting in the cafeteria, I wanted to see if you two wanted to come and join us."

Vala brightened at Sam's words, there was no way she was going to say no to a party. She opened her mouth to answer, when Daniel replied first. "No thanks, Sam," he said. "I don't feel like celebrating, really."

The Colonel furrowed her brow at this as Vala turned her head to regard him with an annoyed expression. "What's wrong?" Carter asked, looking confused.

Before Daniel could get a word in edgewise, Vala crossed her arms and looked back at the other woman, quickly answering with a bitterly sarcastic tone, "Oh, he's just upset that he got the information he came here for."

Sam blinked in confusion at Vala's answer, watching the two with a still bewildered expression. Very quickly, she started to smile with a faint twist of bemusement as she watched Daniel's reaction to Vala's words. The archaeologist looked away from Sam to glare at the other woman, crossing his arms. "Dammit Vala, you know that's not why I'm upset."

Sighing, Vala uncrossed her arms, putting her fists on her hips as she looked back over at him with a piercing stare, half turning to face him. "Yes, Daniel, I know. You're upset about what happened to her. The thing is, she made her choice. She knew what the risks were, and she decided to do the right thing anyway. Just like I've heard you chose to do when you were ascended." The archaeologist pursed his lips at her rebuke, looking somewhat abashed at her point. Vala stared at him intently, silently daring him to argue with her.

Sam furrowed her brow. She was hesitant to jump in, but was totally lost. "I'm sorry, who are you talking about?" she asked politely.

The two looked away from each other back to Sam. Daniel sighed, answering, "An ascended Ancient known as Morgan Le Fay helped us. Like Oma, she was skirting the line by helping us. She gave us the two planets we were looking for." He paused, then continued with a troubled voice, "I pushed her for more, urging her to get directly involved. She started to by trying to tell us something, but then _they_ intervened and made her disappear."

"It was her choice," Vala reiterated, staring at him intently. Daniel looked back at her bitterly.

"Oh," Sam answered, a little taken aback by the story. She paused for a moment, taking it in. "Morgan Le Fay, like in Camelot?" she asked with a furrowed brow.

Daniel looked back at her, answering, "The same."

"But you got what you came here for?" Sam asked.

Vala was about to answer, but Daniel saw her open her mouth and beat her to it. "Yes," he said wearily, exchanging irritated glances with the raven-haired woman. "We got the names and gate addresses of two planets, one of which probably houses Merlin's weapon."

There was a brief silence before Carter spoke again. "Well, I think I agree with Vala." The archaeologist looked from the woman next to him to Sam with an incredulous expression. Vala looked over at her with an exultant smile.

Trying hard not to smile at their reactions, the Colonel continued, "Morgan knew what the consequences could be and she made her choice. It's tragic what probably happened to her, as well as the fact that the ascended Ancients aren't going to help us." Daniel sighed, watching Carter with a tense expression. "But, she gave you the information you were after...and, we blocked the Ori Supergate." She paused, watching Daniel struggle with the matter. "In all, I'd say we had a pretty good day."

"Thank you," Vala said in an exasperated tone, "That's what I've been trying to tell him." She looked back at Daniel, asking with a pleading voice, "Could you please just let it go, darling?" He looked from Sam to her, furrowing his brow with a tense expression. "Let's just be happy with what we've won today."

Daniel sighed, pursing his lips as he considered Vala's words. "Come on," she said, touching his arm, "let's go join the party. There's no need to sulk out here all night when today is the first time things have gone well for us in a long while." Sam watched on with a hopeful expression as the man wrestled with himself in silence.

"Alright, fine," he said wearily. "If it'll keep you from pestering me, I'll do it."

"Well," Vala answered indignantly, narrowing her eyes at his words. She withdrew her hand and took a step back. "Your welcome for the concern," she said with a bitter voice. With that, she turned on her heel and started walking for the door.

Daniel looked pained at her reaction, even as the words had left his lips. "Vala, wait," he said pleadingly, quickly stepping after her. He caught her arm and stopped her. She half turned to face him, looking angry. "I'm sorry," he said with a sigh. "That was totally uncalled for, you were just trying to help me."

The raven-haired woman sighed heavily at his words, regarding him with dark eyes. Pursing her lips, she looked down. "Well," she began, studying her feet intently for a moment. "I suppose you could make it up to me by taking me to the party." She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Daniel blinked at her words, looking taken aback and confused. The raven-haired woman smiled at the sight of his reaction. She quickly added, "Then, maybe some sight-seeing around the city tomorrow..."

The archaeologist smirked, regarding her warmly. "Sure," he answered with an amused tone, cutting her off before she could add more conditions. "That sounds good."

Vala smiled from ear to ear at his words, watching him with a warm gaze. "Well then, I suppose I can forgive you, Daniel."

The archaeologist smiled all the more at her words, chuckling in spite of himself. He glanced over at Sam. "You said the party was in the cafeteria?"

Sam blinked in surprise at the sudden question in her direction. The amused smirk she had worn as she watched the two disappeared in a heartbeat, but not before they first saw it. "Oh, uhm," she started as she got her wits about her. "Yeah, I imagine it's getting into full swing by now. Doctor Weir figured her people needed the down time, so she made a city-wide announcement about twenty minutes ago."

"That'll be perfect timing, then!" Vala proclaimed brightly. Daniel looked over at her with a confused expression. She blinked at his reaction. "Well, darling, one never shows up at a party early. Better to arrive fashionably late," she said with a grin.

Daniel chuckled, then held out his arm for her, like he had when they went for a walk while inhabiting Harrid and Salis' bodies. Vala looked at the gesture with a surprised expression.

"You said you wanted me to take you to the party," he plainly answered her questioning look.

Vala smiled from ear to ear at his words, then she wrapped her arm around his. Daniel marveled at the utter look of contentment that came over her face.

"Come on, you two," Sam said with a tired grin, turning to lead them there.

* * *

When the three arrived in the cafeteria in Atlantis, they found it was bustling with activity. By his reckoning, Daniel figured that most of the expedition from Earth must have been in the room. He was suddenly very uncomfortable, instantly regretting that he had given in to Vala. The scholarly man had always preferred the quiet stillness of his studies. Dealing with this many people was something he never felt comfortable doing. 

By contrast, Vala couldn't have been happier. She lit up upon entering into the room, her smile wide and her eyes bright. Daniel glanced over at her. He found that, in spite of his own turbulent emotions, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of her happiness. She was even more beautiful than usual. Maybe this wasn't a mistake after all, he decided.

Then he blinked in quiet surprise at himself as he suddenly realized he had been reflecting on the woman's beauty. Suddenly he again felt confused and nervous, discomfort sweeping over him all over again.

Vala, meanwhile, was completely oblivious to Daniel's roller coaster of emotions. She couldn't take her eyes off the celebration before them. It had been a while since she'd been to a party. Granted, she had been to bigger and rowdier events, but after everything she'd been through lately, this little shindig would suit her just fine.

"Well," Carter said, drawing their attention, "you two go have some fun. I just saw Doctor Weir over there and I've got some questions for her, so..."

"Go ahead, Sam," Vala answered, "we'll be just fine."

Sam grinned in return, exchanging a knowing look with the other woman. The two waved at each other and Sam wandered off into the crowd. As the two watched Carter vanish into the sea of people, Vala turned to looked over at the archaeologist with a wide smile plastered to her face.

"Come on, Daniel," she said eagerly. The archaeologist glanced over at her, still feeling somewhat confused and anxious. He met her gaze, and suddenly found himself unable to resist a small smile as he stared into her happy eyes. She squeezed his arm tightly. "Let's go mingle!"

Her words and actions brought a smile out of Daniel, which he was glad for since he was desperately trying to keep his discomfort from showing on his face. The woman on his arm was so happy, he didn't want to ruin it for her with his own issues and misgivings. Instead, he simply smiled faintly and answered quietly, "Okay."

The raven-haired woman brightened even more, immediately turning to rush into the room. She moved so fast she that she half dragged him along. Daniel realized that if he had in fact revealed any of his unease, she was completely oblivious to it.

The two started to wind their way through the crowd, Vala smiling and talking to random people that she'd never met before. She briefly joined various conversations, making jokes and comments here and there. Almost everyone she spoke to smiled warmly, listening to her words attentively, and laughing when she said something funny. Everyone seemed very pleased as she made their way through the room.

Daniel didn't say a word the whole time. He simply found it difficult to smile and make eye contact with people, let alone say anything. Now that they were in the thick of the party, he felt even more uncomfortable than before. Again, he began to wonder why he even agreed to this.

Before he knew it, Vala had navigated them to one of the tables on the side. The surface was covered with champagne flutes and open bottles of bubbly, as well as a few bowls of punch and rows of cups. Trays were laid out with various sweets of different shapes and sizes.

Vala withdrew her arm from his and started to pour the champagne. Daniel stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked out at the sea of people in the room. The din of the dozens of conversations seemed overwhelming to him. He pursed his lips, wondering idly if he could find a way to beg out and leave. After all, he reasoned, Vala would probably have more fun if she wasn't dragging him along behind her like a wet blanket.

He sighed heavily, frowning. Now he was worried about ruining Vala's fun with his dour mood. Daniel really couldn't remember when he'd seen her as happy as when they walked into the party. Actually, he could. It was when Landry told her that they were going to let her stay at the SGC.

Well, either way, the last thing he wanted to do was spoil her fun. Maybe he could just slip away quietly...

"Stop it, Daniel." Vala's stern voice broke him out of his reverie. He half jumped, turning to find himself looking into piercing blue eyes. Suddenly a wave of guilt washed over him.

"Stop what?" he asked a little too quickly.

With that, she held out one of two flutes of champagne for him to take. "Stop brooding over what happened today. I brought you here to relax and enjoy yourself, not so you could keep sulking."

He hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly took the glass from her. He had no intention of drinking from it, however. Alcohol and he just didn't get along, he knew that too well. "I wasn't thinking about that, Vala," he answered truthfully. She raised an eyebrow at his words, looking at him thoughtfully. Half-crossing her arms, she swirled the liquid in her own glass as she considered him with a pensive gaze.

"Then stop plotting your escape," she said finally with a grin. Her smile only grew as she watched his crest-fallen reaction.

"I dragged you here for your own good, Daniel," she explained. "You don't take enough time to unwind." She grinned as she lifted the glass to her lips. "Besides, you promised me you'd do this, to make up for being mean to me just before..."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at her words, tilting his head slightly. "Funny, I don't remember actually promising you I'd do this..."

She paused before drinking, raising an eyebrow back at him. "Are you arguing semantics with me, darling?"

The archaeologist pursed his lips at her words, looking into her eyes with a frustrated glare. Vala merely looked back at him with a triumphant gaze as she paused, her glass near her lips. He sighed from the tips of his toes. She had him trapped, and she knew it.

"Fine," he said with a defeated voice, watching her grin from ear to ear and then sip her champagne.

She watched his dour expression thoughtfully as she drank the bubbling liquid. Pulling the glass away, she said wryly, "Oh, you poor man. An amazingly beautiful woman wants nothing more than to drag you to a party and enjoy your company. How simply terrible for you." She smirked at him as his brows knotted together in frustration while he glared at her. "Now then, be a good boy and have some of that champagne. You need to relax."

Daniel frowned even more at her words, looking at the glass he held awkwardly in his hand like it was some kind of toxic compound. "Vala, I really don't care for alcohol..."

"Look, Daniel," she interrupted him with an exasperated voice. "You're going to relax and have fun tonight, so you might as well just get used to the idea." He looked back at her with a disbelieving stare, he couldn't believe she was talking like that to him, or that he was still standing here, listening to it. "Now, we can either do this the easy way, or the hard way..." He raised an eyebrow at her, watching her warily as she further explained, "and I guarantee you that you'll have a lot less to be embarrassed about tomorrow if you just go for the easy way..."

He sighed again, watching her quietly for a moment as he considered her words. Bright blue eyes stared back at him intently, unwaveringly. His eyes wandered to the glass in his hand. He watched the golden liquid as small, tiny bubbles slowly rolled to the surface, clinging to the walls within. He'd had champagne once before, actually. It was a long time ago, back when his paper about the pyramids as landing platforms had been accepted for publication. He couldn't remember if he liked the drink then, the memory was too overshadowed by what had followed.

Swallowing bitterly, Daniel closed his eyes and raised his glass to his lips. The drink tasted surprisingly sweet and fruity. It was light on the tongue and the bubbles tickled down his throat. He found himself smiling, he actually liked it. Then he opened his eyes and looked through the liquid and the glass to see Vala watching him with an amused smile.

His smile vanished as he pulled the glass away. Raising an eyebrow at her, he asked bitterly, "Happy now?" As he spoke, he believed he already felt a little light-headed.

A dark eyebrow lifted at his words, her smile turning crooked. "For now," she said simply, her eyes still full of amusement.

They stared at each other wordlessly for a while, she with the same amused look while he seemed somewhere between annoyed and irritated.

"Come on," she said finally with a warm and genuine smile. She reached out and took his free hand in hers. "We've got more mingling to do."


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note:** As a warning, this story is going to get bumped to the Mature rating in the next chapter.

Thanks again to those who reviewed. Also thanks to Kelly and LC, for their beta efforts. :-)

* * *

The evening flowed more smoothly after their visit to the bar. As with their first trip through the crowd, Vala's natural charisma took on a life of its own as they made their way around the room. Everyone they talked to seemed to enjoy her conversation. Daniel was continually amazed at how they left every group of people laughing and smiling.

To his surprise, Daniel found that Vala made a very serious effort to include him in every conversation that she wormed her way into. Somehow she managed to get him talking along with her, usually by bringing up various topics that that he had great interest in. It was readily clear to him that she in fact had little interest in the subjects she raised to involve him. Yet, she still managed to contribute and crack jokes. Before he knew it, she had him laughing along with everyone else.

Of course, he realized it helped her cause that they were mingling with one of the largest concentrations of Earth's most brilliant scientists and scholars between two galaxies. She couldn't have found a more sympathetic audience to topics that he found interesting. It also occurred to Daniel that this same audience was particularly susceptible to her charm, especially the men. However, he suspected she'd also have no problem making friends and bringing out people's smiles and laughter in any crowd.

In all, she completely amazed him with all that she was doing for him.

As the evening wore on, Daniel found himself truly relaxing. He didn't know how she did it, but in some mysterious way she managed to start to unravel the layers of tension and stress that he never even realized had been wound up so tightly about him. He soon forgot about the crowd, forgot about his anxiety, and found himself only listening to the musical sound of her voice and watching those brilliant blue eyes.

As Vala was leading him through the room yet again, the archaeologist lifted his glass to his lips to find that it was surprisingly empty. When did he drink all that champagne, he wondered?

Suddenly Daniel realized that Vala had maneuvered him back to the buffet table. He blinked in amazement as she withdrew her hand from his and took the empty glass from him. She paused, and he looked at her with a questioning brow.

"Would you like another? she asked with a raised eyebrow, holding their two empty glasses in her hands.

Daniel paused at the question, half surprised that she wasn't just shoving another full glass in his hand and half amazed that he had almost said yes without a second thought. His mouth hung open in the unsaid 'yes' as he watched her in wonderment, finding her amused smile rather infectious all of a sudden.

In the back of his mind was a small, yet persistent voice that was screaming at him to refuse any further alcohol for the evening. That same voice had been so very loud at the beginning of the night, protesting everything that was happening to him. As the night wore on, however, he found that the voice was getting weaker and more distant.

The scholarly man suddenly felt very tired of listening to that voice. It had badgered him for years and years, and he was suddenly sick of it. All he wanted was one night of enjoyment without the persistent tension that voice brought. Besides, he reasoned, Vala was putting so much effort into helping him enjoy the party, probably at the expense of her own fun. He idly wondered why, but couldn't think of a reason.

"Well?" she asked with an entertained voice, still smiling widely at him.

He met her gaze, closing his mouth while watching her quietly. "Sure," he finally said, finding happiness in the crooked lilt her smile took upon his answer. Without another word, the raven-haired woman put down their classes, filling them up again. She then picked both up and offered one to him. A wide smile came across his lips as he took it from her, their fingers touching briefly.

"So are you enjoying yourself now, Daniel?" she asked in a quiet voice, looking deeply into his eyes.

He looked down for a moment as a chagrined expression came across his face. When he lifted his eyes back to hers, he saw the mirth in her gaze and a bemused smirk across her lips. She already knew the answer, of course.

"Yes," he answered just as quietly, a strong feeling of gratitude coming over him. He couldn't help but grin along with her, feeling a little abashed for all the grief he had given her at the start of their evening.

"Good," she said softly, raising her glass, tapping it lightly against the one he held in his hand. Their glasses rang musically upon contact.

"To even more fun yet to come," she said gently as she stared deeply into his eyes. The archaeologist found himself even more amazed as he smiled from ear to ear at her words. He raised his glass to his lips as she did the same, the two watching each other intently as they sipped their drinks.

As the liquid hit his lips, Daniel realized they were drinking something different. It was still fruity tasting and bubbly, but had a decidedly bitter element to it. As he finished a sip and pulled the glass away, he suddenly found himself more than a little lightheaded, the noise and the heat from the crowd doing nothing to help him. He closed his eyes as he regained his balance, then opened them again to see blue eyes staring at him with concern.

"Daniel, are you alright?" she asked with a worried voice.

"I'm fine," he quickly answered, shaking his head. He smiled widely at her. "Actually, I've never been better," he paused, then impulsively added, "or happier, Vala." He gazed back into her eyes at the last, staring at her intently. "Thank you," he said softly.

Vala blinked in surprise at his words, looking like she was caught off guard for once. Now it was Daniel's turn to smirk,enjoying the look on her face as she regained her footing. "Come on," he said warmly. "Don't we have more mingling to do?"

Immediately, a wide smile crossed her ruby-red lips as she stared up at him. To his surprise, his hand found hers and he entwined their fingers together as he took hold of her. He couldn't help but note the deep breath she drew at his touch. She stared at him in silence with a heated gaze, and he suddenly realized that there was very little distance between them anymore. He drew in a deep breath of his own, smelling the sweetness of her perfume and her own scent. Their eyes met, and he found his heart pounding in his ears.

Suddenly a loud popping sound from behind them made them both jump. They looked behind them to see Dr. Zelenka holding a newly-opened bottle.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," he said quickly as he saw their dark glances. "I just noticed that all of the open bottles were empty and I figured I should open up a few more, I didn't even see that the two of you were standing there..."

The two smiled weakly, but were clearly still a little annoyed. Suddenly Daniel noticed that the bottle he had in his hand was like the one that Vala had just poured from. After a moment, his slightly hazy mind realized that both were different bottles than the first one that they had drank from.

"What is that?" he asked Zelenka, furrowing his brow.

"What, this?" the doctor asked, holding up the bottle. He smiled from ear to ear, saying proudly, "It's a sparkling drink from my homeland in the Czech Republic. It's made by my uncle, actually." He paused and saw that Daniel and Vala were listening to him with interest. Realizing he had an audience, he continued, casting a glance at McKay as the other scientist wandered over to join them.

"You see, it's really just Fernet Stock with the tonic water already added." The three looked at him with confused expressions. "Oh, right, you wouldn't know what that is," he said with a grin. "Fernet Stock is a drink native to my homeland. People often drink it with tonic water, and my uncle - he's quite the businessman, you see - he had the idea to take Fernet Stock and just add the tonic water, selling it like that." The three exchanged unimpressed glances.

"It's turned out to be a rather popular party drink in Prague," Zelenka added hastily, seeing their reactions.

"Huh," Mckay spoke up, answering with an acid tone, "So your uncle's brilliant business plan was to take two different drinks other people made and mix them together?" As he spoke he looked off into space then rolled his eyes at the other doctor, looking at him with a disdainful stare.

"Well, uhm," he paused as Daniel and Vala looked from McKay to him. "Yes," he answered simply, looking chagrined.

"Well, isn't that wonderful," McKay said with a deeply sarcastic voice. "I'm just SO glad that we ran out of champagne, otherwise we'd have never gotten the chance to experience your uncle's rebottled fruit juice."

Daniel and Vala shared amused glances with each other, then looked to Zelenka with sympathy.

"Well," Vala said, "I think it's a wonderful drink, doctor."

"Absolutely," Daniel agreed with a smile.

The man lit up at their words, smiling back. "Well thank you," he said. The two raised their glasses at him, then made their way back into the room, casting a sideways glance at Rodney as they left. The man didn't even notice.

As they wandered off, McKay looked at one of the unopened bottles on the table pensively. "Hrm," he said, hefting the bottle to read the label. "You said your uncle used Fernet Stock, didn't you?" he asked absentmindedly.

"Yes," Zelenka answered with an irritated voice.

"That's about fourty percent alcohol, isn't it?" McKay asked.

The other chuckled, answering wearily, "Yes, Rodney. My uncle's rebottled fruit drink packs quite a punch."

Rodney turned to grin at Zelenka. "Well, I may have been a little hasty in my judgment." He set down the bottle and picked up an empty glass. "Hit me, doctor!" he said exuberantly, holding the glass between them.

Zelenka raised an eyebrow at McKay, pausing before he filled up the empty glass with the newly opened bottle he still had in his hand. "Don't tempt me," the man answered.

* * *

She had to admit it to herself, Vala decided as they walked away from the banquet table. This was the best night she'd had in a long time. Not only was she able to get Daniel all to herself tonight, but she actually had gotten him to relax and enjoy himself. Even better, he seemed to be genuinely appreciative of her and her efforts. There was only one thing might have made the evening better. Sadly, the first opportunity for that had just been ruined. 

Although she had little doubt that the good doctor had truly been unaware of their presence when he popped the cork on that bottle, she nonetheless could have killed him for interrupting.

It amazed her that Daniel seemed ready to kiss her. Her heart raced at the memory of his nearness, and the anticipation of what must have been only seconds away.

She sighed deeply. As frustrated as she was, she still held out hope. With any luck, there would yet be other opportunities tonight.

They made their way through the party, continuing as they had before their last pit-stop to refill their glasses. As they talked with the various members of the Atlantis expedition, she started to become amazed at just how relaxed Daniel was becoming. Though she always knew he was wound a little too tightly, she had no idea it was this much. More and more, he was laughing and smiling. The man was becoming positively giddy.

As the evening wore on, however, she started to realize that he was going well past just being relaxed. It took her longer than normal to recognize the symptoms, simply because she couldn't have fathomed it from such a small amount of drink.

The more they wandered about and talked with others, Vala found herself regretting that she'd given the archaeologist his second glass. It had become readily apparent to her that he was quickly becoming quite drunk. He laughed too early and too loudly at jokes, and he was starting to babble. Sometimes he was simply incoherent.

It boggled her mind that so little alcohol could have such an effect on the man. Granted, even she found that Dr. Zelenka's uncle's drink was a bit heavy-duty, but she would have figured he was still a few drinks away from what she was seeing now. Worse yet, she watched the level in his glass drop much more quickly than his glass of champagne had, his behavior worsening with each swig he took.

While they made their rounds through the room again, she started to wonder how she could take his glass from him. She had already asked him if she could hold it for him, but he had told her no, answering that he would rather her other hand be free to hold his. As sweet as the words were, and in spite of the blush those words brought to her cheeks, they only confirmed to her that she had let him have too much tonight.

The final straw came while they were talking to yet another random group of people. Daniel took yet another pull on his drink. Vala winced as she watched him, trying to figure out what to do, only to watch him start to tip backwards as he tossed his head back, losing his balance. She grabbed his arm roughly, jerking him forward while she tried to keep from flinging her own glass at the people near her.

The archaeologist was able to regain his footing, but only barely.

"Alright, that's it," she said firmly, drawing an irritated gaze from the man. "You're done," she said simply, pulling him away from the group with her hand still tightly gripping his arm. As they left the group, she could see out of the corner of her eye their amazed expressions at the display.

"But Vala," he complained, half whining. She whipped her head around, silencing him with a bitter stare that cut right into him. The man swallowed and wordlessly followed, stumbling as he went, his sense of balance clearly deteriorating.

Vala lead Daniel out of the crowd, holding his arm to steady his faltering footsteps. As they went, her anger started to abate as she quickly remembered that he was only drunk because she pressured him to start drinking in the first place. Soon she was kicking herself for allowing him to get this drunk. The evening had been so wonderful, he had seemed so happy, only for everything to now take a complete nose dive in the space of just a few minutes.

She had never seen anyone get drunk so fast on so little alcohol.

They approached the banquet table and she wordlessly removed the glass from his hand, depositing it and hers as they passed. She resumed her hold of Daniel's arm and now grasped his hand too as she continued to guide him, watching with a worried expression. A tumultuous mixture of guilt, disappointment, and even shame washed over her for bringing him to this. All she wanted to do was give him a night of fun. Now she had probably given him a night he would quickly come to regret. That thought pained her more than anything else right now.

"I need to sit down," he said unsteadily with a sluggish voice, snapping her out of her self-pity. As he spoke, he blanched and looked as if he was trying to keep from being sick.

"Okay," she said simply with a concerned voice, quickly guiding him to one of the countless chairs that had been pushed to the side of the cafeteria to allow for tonight's party. With infinite care and patience, she guided him to the nearest, helping him to seat himself without incident. It was considerably darker where they were, at the edge of the cafe. The archaeologist stared off into space, looking queasy. She pursed her lips as she looked at him, her feelings of guilt growing even more.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. She glanced over her shoulder to the banquet table they had just passed. A small smile crossed her lips as she saw what she had been looking for, a large and mostly untouched pitcher of ice water, along with several empty glasses.

She turned back to look at him. "I'll be right back," she said quietly, squeezing his hand in hers, letting it go as she turned to leave.

Daniel looked up suddenly with a panicked expression on his face, grabbing her arm urgently. "I'm sorry," he said quickly and urgently, looking greatly concerned at her words.

Vala stopped and turned back to him, furrowing her brow in confusion, at a total loss. She hesitated for a moment. "Daniel, whatever do you have to be sorry for?" she asked, confounded.

He swallowed, looking up into her eyes with a remorseful expression. His gaze fell downwards."I ruined your evening," he answered brokenly, a heavy sigh wracking his body.

Her dark eyebrows knotted together as she listened to him in amazement. She sat down in a chair next to him. "Daniel," she said softly, waiting for him to look at her. When he didn't, she reached out and caressed his cheek, gently turning his head towards her. After a brief moment of hesitation, he lifted his eyes to look at her. She swallowed painfully as he stared at her with remorseful eyes.

"Daniel, you didn't ruin my evening," she told him with a tender voice, gently stroking his cheek as she watched him intently. He continued to stare at her with the same expression, disbelief in his eyes at her words.

"Yes I did, Vala," he said shakily, "I saw the way you lit up when we walked in the room." She blinked in surprise at his words, furrowing her eyebrows as she listened to him. "You love parties. This is probably the first one you've been to in a long time. Instead of going off to have your own fun, you dragged me along to try and cheer me up." He paused, tilting his head downwards, unable to keep eye contact with her. Pursing his lips, he said, "Then what do I do? I go and get stinking drunk, I completely embarrass you..."

"Shush, Daniel," she interrupted him with a firm voice, gently pressing her finger to his lips. She paused, then slid her hand over his cheek and back down to cup his chin, lifting his face to hers again.

It took a moment, but Daniel finally lifted his eyes to hers. Vala looked into his gaze when he did, her eyebrows coming together as she saw fear in his eyes. The raven-haired woman's heart melted at this, her own emotions painted clearly on her face. The archaeologist furrowed his brow as he saw, looking somewhat confused.

She moved closer to him, gently caressing his cheek as she did. "Darling, how could you possibly think that I wasn't happy being with you tonight?"

He faltered at this, opening his mouth but then hesitating. After a moment he answered, "come on, Vala. I'm rotten at parties. You're in your element here. You and I both know you'd have had more fun on your own."

"You think I'd have rather come here alone tonight than with you?" she asked quietly, raising an eyebrow. A smile blossomed upon her lips as she shook her head, saying gently, "Not a chance, Daniel."

The man's eyebrows knotted together at her words, his expression one of complete surprise. Her smile only grew at his reaction. She continued to stroke his cheek. "Drunk or not," she said warmly, "There's no one I'd rather be with tonight than you." A grin flitted across her lips as she added playfully. "That includes myself."

Daniel's eyes brightened at her words, the last vestiges of guilt seeming to leave his face. He looked at her with warm eyes, his lips turning up in a small smile.

Neither said another word, they simply stared at each other. Suddenly she realized how close they were. Her heart started to pound in her chest as she felt his nearness, as she felt the heat of his body so close to hers. His breath was warm upon her neck and face.

The two of them both leaned in the rest of the way, their lips meeting together, brushing against one another. Her eyes fell shut as she kissed him tenderly, sighing happily as she felt his lips caressing hers in return. She stroked his cheek tenderly, then wrapped her arm about his neck as she firmly pressed her lips against his. Her tongue glided over his lips and she drew in a deep breath when he suddenly parted them, entwining his tongue with hers.

A delightful shiver ran through her as she felt his tongue caressing her while he moaned huskily against her mouth. Strong arms wrapped about her waist, pulling her even closer to him. Vala wrapped her other arm about his neck as she kissed him more fervently, her heart racing.

A warm feeling washed over Vala as she felt the tender caress of his lips and his tongue against hers. She settled into his strong embrace happily, melting against his body. The sounds of the party dimmed in her ears as she lost all sense of where she was or how much time was passing. It amazed her that Daniel was actually kissing her. While she had wanted this for so long, but she didn't ever really believe that he did, too.

She brimmed over with happiness as she felt the tender stroking of his tongue upon hers and the seductive caress of his lips against hers. Her breath came more heavily as she kissed him back passionately and held onto him tightly, running her fingers through his hair.

Then her happiness started to dissolve when in the back of her mind she remembered that he was completely drunk right now. Almost instantly a cold fear started to creep into her heart as she began to wonder if this was what he truly wanted or if tomorrow he would be distant again, possibly even more so because of what was happening between them right now.

As much as she wanted nothing more than to keep kissing him, the grip of her worry made her pull away, although she kept her face near his. She opened her eyes to look at him with a heated stare, studying his face intently, watching his reaction.

Daniel paused at first, his eyes still closed, his breath coming as heavy as hers. His lids slowly opened and their eyes meet. He stared at her with an impassioned look on his face, saying nothing for a time.

"Is something wrong?" he asked slowly in a hushed voice, his eyebrows furrowing in concern as a worried expression started to creep over his face.

She swallowed bitterly, not sure what to say to him. Nervousness washed over her as she tried desperately to find the right way to ask him about what worried her so. Unable to think of anything, she decided to just be direct, saying, "Daniel, there's nothing I want more than to keep kissing you..." She paused, almost losing the resolve to continue as she saw the smile that crossed his lips at her words. She pursed her lips and then forced herself to speak, watching him intently as she did.

"But you said it yourself, you're completely drunk right now," she blurted out, her nervousness spilling into her voice as she spoke. His smile faded as he watched her, listening intently. She looked down, unable to continue looking into his eyes as she again forced herself onwards, talking more and more quickly as she went, "As much as I want this to be real, I don't want you to do something you're going to regret tomorrow, I don't want to risk the chance that someday this might be real, I..."

"Vala," he said quietly, interrupting her. She instantly fell silent at the sound of his voice, looking up to him with panic filled eyes. He pursed his lips and reached up, gently touching her cheek. Vala hesitated for a moment and then closed her eyes, leaning into his hand. He caressed her lovingly, staring at her in silence as she made the softest of noises.

His eyes were full of her as he tried to figure out what to say. The fear he had seen in her face had left him speechless. In spite of the alcohol-induced haze that clouded his mind like a heavy fog, he knew one thing clearly. He'd never felt anything with such certainty as what he felt for her now.

Before he knew it, he said, "Vala, drunk or not, this is how I really feel for you." Those simple words made her eyes fly open, her wide and hopeful gaze looking deeply into his. He swallowed heavily as he stared back, realizing there was no going back now. Suddenly he began to feel incredibly nervous, an intense queasiness forming in his gut that had nothing to do with what he had drunk but was nonetheless made worse because of it.

He glanced down, saying further, "I know it doesn't really seem that way most of the time..." He paused, lifting his gaze back to find her looking at him with a convicting stare and a raised eyebrow. "Okay, he said quickly, closing his eyes as he corrected himself "most of the time I couldn't seem less interested in you." He opened his eyes to see her smirking slightly, watching him with an amused gaze, though one still strangely laced with a mixture of irritation and fear.

"But you need to understand, Vala," he said plaintively, "Most of the time, I'm afraid." Her expression changed to one of confusion at his words. For his part, Daniel simply couldn't believe he was saying these things to her. Nonetheless, the words just kept pouring out from heart and past his lips before he could stop himself. At this point, he wasn't sure he wanted to stop, anyway. His head felt like it was full of cotton and the world seemed like it was lagging behind him. He couldn't think straight, and he felt a little ill to his stomach.

In all, he felt rotten. The only thing that felt good right now was what he was saying to the raven-haired beauty sitting next to him.

"What are you afraid of?" she asked hesitantly, her eyes regarding him with a mixture warm concern for him and fear of what he was going to say.

He paused, staring back into her eyes. He felt even more nervous than before, the knot in the pit of his stomach getting worse with each passing second he was silent. "I'm afraid that you're not serious," he said finally, blurting the words out in a hurry, "afraid that you're not going to want a real relationship with me." She furrowed her brow as she listened to him, watching him with incredulous eyes.

"Vala, most of the time I've known you, I've been the butt of jokes you make or I get caught up in some scam that you're trying to pull." At his words, an expression of guilt instantly came across her face. She looked down, unable to keep eye contact with him.

Reaching up with his other hand, he cupped her face, leaning in even closer. She looked up at him with deeply emotional eyes, her fear and remorse set firmly within her gaze. He sighed, saying further, "Yet in spite of that, I've come to feel so strongly for you, to care so much for you that it absolutely scares me to death." He almost said more but then stopped suddenly, biting back the words that would otherwise have just flowed off the tip of his tongue so easily. In spite of being this drunk, he just wasn't ready to say those words. Not yet.

The raven-haired woman swallowed heavily as she listened to him, tears forming in her eyes. He continued, his voice becoming more and more passionate with each word. "Vala, it's hard to express in words how much I want you, how much I want to be with you...but I'm afraid of getting hurt, afraid that what you want isn't the same thing that I want."

He grew silent then, watching her intently. His heart was pounding heavily in his chest, the adrenaline racing like never before. In spite of how drunk he felt, he had a strange lucidity from the fear that now gripped him with an icy hand. Vala stared back into his eyes, searching his gaze as she contemplated his words. She then closed her eyes, leaning her head forward to touch her forehead to his.

"I'm sorry, Daniel," she whispered with a broken voice, a trembling sigh wracking her body as she shook her head slightly, adding, "I didn't know..."

The sound of her all but weeping pierced his heart. With his hands still upon her cheeks, he lifted her chin slightly and closed the small amount of distance between their lips. He kissed her passionately and deeply, his tongue immediately pushing its way into her mouth. She moaned weakly against him, immediately meeting his tongue with hers. She reached up to caress his face as the tears started to roll down her cheeks.

As Daniel felt the wetness reach his hands upon her face, he kissed her all the more fervently. The warmth he had felt from all the alcohol seemed to heat up into an inferno inside of him as he assaulted her mouth with his tongue and roughly caressed her lips with his. Vala quickly kissed back just as eagerly, hungrily sucking on his tongue while pressing her body against his. Her arms slid down from his neck to rub his chest and then wrapped about him, squeezing him tightly. The archaeologist felt a tight pang in his gut, and he suddenly couldn't get enough of her. He needed more.

"Let's get out of here, Vala," he said hotly between kisses. "I want you...I need you..." As he spoke, one of his hands left her face and roamed down her body, caressing the curve of her breast. She drew in a surprised breath within their kiss as he touched her, instinctively pressing her body against his hand.

The raven-haired woman broke the kiss, pressing her forehead against his again. Both of them were breathing heavily, still pressing themselves to each other, gripping one another tightly. "Come back to my room, Vala," Daniel said hotly, stealing a quick kiss, then breaking away again. They both opened their eyes, staring at each other intently.

Looking deeply into his eyes, she then closed hers once more and drew in a deep breath as she felt his hand still resting upon her breast squeeze firmly. She had never wanted anything so much before in her life. Swallowing heavily, she took his hands in hers, asking in a weak and unconvincing voice, "are you sure you want this, Daniel? Are you going to be happy tomorrow morning?" Opening her eyes again, she stared back at him hotly.

"I've never been so certain of anything in my life," he answered plainly, staring back with the same intensity.

"Okay," she half whispered, unmoving. Nodding, she said again, as if convincing herself, "okay." With that she squeezed his hands firmly, smiled at him, and stood.

Daniel rushed to stand with her and made it halfway up, but then suddenly lost his footing and landed back in his chair with a jarring sound. A look of shock crossed his face as he struck the chair, the man was obviously quite surprised and confused at what happened, looking about with a stunned expression. Then he blanched, looking ill.

A frown crossed Vala's face as the incident served to ground her once more. As much as her blood still raced from the feel of his touch, from the heat of his body against hers, as much as all she wanted was to take him somewhere they could be alone so she could make passionate love to him, she suddenly remembered just how drunk he was. She sighed from the tips of her toes as she watched him still trying to regain his bearings, resigning herself to the fact that all she could really expect to do was take him back to his room and tuck him into bed.

With any luck, what he was asking of her would come another night in the not too distant future.

* * *


End file.
